ACT Math strategies

1.Read the last sentence first

On a word problem, the last sentence is the actual question. Read it first, then read the setup knowing what you are hunting for.

You will skip the numbers that do not matter, and you will not solve for the wrong thing, which is the most common way to get a "hard" word problem wrong.

2.Backsolve from the second choice

Math has four choices, not five. There is no middle choice. When the answers are numbers in order, you do not have to solve the problem. Start with the second choice.

Too big, it is the first. Too small, one more try. Backsolving is faster now than it used to be. Works on almost any "what is the value of x" question.

3.Pick a number when the answers have variables

Let x = 2 (never 0 or 1, they hide mistakes) unless the problem has rules — then pick a number that fits (x > 5, a negative, a fraction). Work the problem with that number and get a result. Then plug the same number into each answer choice. The one that matches is it.

If two choices match, try a second number on just those two.

4.Five formulas to know cold

1. Area of a triangle = ½ × base × height.

2. Pythagorean theorem, plus the 3-4-5 and 5-12-13 triangles so you can skip the arithmetic.

3. SOHCAHTOA.

4. Slope: y = mx + b, rise over run. Slope is on nearly every form.

5. Average = sum ÷ count, so sum = average × count. That is how every "what does she need on the last test" question works.

Most-missed easy item: percent change = difference ÷ original.

5.How to pace ACT Math

The section gets harder as it goes. Halfway is Q23 done by 20 min — linear pacing (a question every minute) contradicts that. If you are ahead at halfway, slow down and stop making careless errors on the easy half. If you are behind, guess on the hard end, not the easy ones you rushed.